Y Combinator Winter Funding Open
Seed fund Y Combinator will be accepting applications for its winter funding through October 26. As most know, seed funding is the earliest stage of funding. You can learn more about the firm’s mindset here. Y Combinator takes a different approach in that it aims to help entrepreneurs form ideas into companies, and to move those ideas to the point of additional funding (including introducing projects to later stage investors and possibly acquirers). It’s headed up by a team of very smart, accomplished people in the Silicon Valley, including the legendary Paul Graham (who if you look at his bio on the Y Combinator site you’ll see just why he’s so dynamic). One of the firm’s investments, Disqus, handles our commenting system here and we absolutely love it. Reddit was another, which went on to be acquired by Conde Nast. What’s great about Y Combinator’s approach is that it’s not just about the money an entrepreneur needs, but the guidance and connections. It funds mostly computer/tech related ideas and web services, but in today’s business environment this can be very broad and include a lot of different and interesting things. It’s also open to any age and any demographic, and doesn’t necessarily require that you have a formal business plan to enter. If you’d like to apply, be sure to read the “How To Apply” post by Graham — it’s very useful in helping entrepreneurs understand what the firm is seeking and other submission guidance. Good luck to those who submit!
